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  • Nigeria past and present: What is the way for the future?

    Nigeria past and present: What is the way for the future?

    By Idowu Adewara

    Nigeria is a country that has never lacked potential. What it has lacked is the discipline, leadership, and collective will to turn that potential into a prosperous reality for most of its people. Both our past and our present moment confront us with the same question: Will we finally learn from experience, or will we continue recycling the same mistakes in new forms?

    A look into the past shows that Nigeria did not begin as a carefully negotiated national project. Its creation in 1914, through the amalgamation of diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious groups, was driven largely by colonial administrative convenience rather than shared identity or consensus. British colonial governance prioritised extraction over development, centralised authority over participatory governance, and obedience over citizenship. Institutions were designed to serve imperial interests, not to foster accountability or national cohesion.

    At independence in 1960, Nigeria inherited these structures without sufficiently reimagining them. The early post-independence years, marked by political instability and ethnic rivalry, quickly gave way to military rule. For decades, the military dominated Nigeria’s political life, interrupting democratic learning and weakening civilian institutions. Decision-making became highly centralised, dissent was suppressed, and accountability was treated as optional.

    Perhaps the most consequential development in Nigeria’s political economy was the discovery and exploitation of oil. The oil boom of the 1970s presented a historic opportunity to transform infrastructure, education, and industry on a grand scale. Instead, oil became both a blessing and a curse. It fuelled corruption, and the neglect of agriculture and manufacturing, sectors that had once sustained broad-based livelihoods. While oil revenues promised prosperity, they entrenched a rent-dependent economy. Productivity, innovation, and taxation were side-lined as the state became reliant on oil proceeds. Successive military and civilian administrations treated the nation as a dispenser of oil rents rather than a platform for productive enterprise and social investment. This culture elevated proximity to power over competence and replaced genuine economic planning with routine federal allocations.

    The return to civilian rule in 1999 raised hopes for a new chapter rooted in constitutionalism, accountability, and growth. More than two decades later, democracy has survived, but it has yet to mature into a system that reliably delivers security, justice, and opportunity for the average Nigerian.

    Elections remain high-stakes contests, frequently marred by vote-buying, low turnout, and a dangerous mix of apathy and cynicism. Institutions meant to check power, including the courts, legislatures, and regulatory agencies, too often bend under political pressure, patronage, or chronic underfunding. The result is a steady erosion of public faith in the rule of law.

    Public office, rather than being widely viewed as a platform for service, is commonly perceived as a route to personal security and enrichment. This perception has shaped a leadership culture that prioritises political survival over stewardship. Policies change with administrations, long-term planning is sacrificed for short-term advantage, and public trust continues to weaken.

    Yet leadership failure alone does not explain Nigeria’s condition. Civic culture has also suffered. Years of disappointment have bred apathy and resignation. Dysfunction is increasingly seen as normal, something to be endured rather than challenged. Elections are approached with low expectations, civic engagement is irregular, and accountability is often demanded selectively, if at all.

    This mutual disengagement, with leaders governing without genuine accountability and citizens retreating into survival mode, has produced a fragile social contract. The state does little to earn trust, while citizens feel little obligation beyond navigating the system for personal survival.

    The consequences are now evident. Nigeria’s young people, among the most talented and energetic in the world, increasingly view emigration as the most viable path to dignity and opportunity. Professionals leave not only in search of better wages but also in search of systems that function. Those who remain frequently contend with underemployment, frustration, and a growing sense of alienation.

    Economically, the country struggles to diversify in any meaningful way. Infrastructure gaps persist, education systems underperform, and poverty remains widespread despite decades of substantial revenue inflows. Social divisions are deepened by insecurity, inequality, and mistrust. Morally, there is a creeping fatigue, a sense that little truly changes, regardless of who holds power.

    Perhaps the greatest cost is the erosion of national belief. When citizens no longer trust that effort will be rewarded or that institutions will protect them, society becomes transactional, brittle, and vulnerable to breakdown.

    Scholars of nation-building consistently argue that unity cannot be decreed. It must be earned through inclusive governance, equitable distribution of resources, and institutions that protect all citizens, not just those with connections. Where injustice is a daily experience, ethnic and religious identities become defensive shelters rather than components of a shared civic identity.

    Breaking this cycle requires action on three interconnected fronts: leadership reform, institutional rebuilding, and renewed civic responsibility.

    First, leadership must be redefined. Nigeria does not merely need new leaders; it needs a new understanding of leadership itself. The country must move from personality-driven politics to institution-driven governance, where rules are clear, consequences are real, and public office is centred on service and measurable outcomes. Leadership should be understood as stewardship, not entitlement. Competence, integrity, and continuity must replace patronage and improvisation. Sustainable development cannot rest on individuals alone; it depends on strong, enduring institutions.

    Second, institutions must be rebuilt deliberately. Strong institutions create predictability, fairness, and trust. This demands policy consistency, respect for the rule of law, and an end to selective enforcement. Education, healthcare, security, and the judiciary must be insulated from political interference and treated as national priorities rather than bargaining tools. Local governments must also be strengthened as genuine centres of development, enabling citizens to hold leaders accountable at the closest level to their daily lives.

    Read Also: Electoral Act: Senate failed Nigerians, Opposition parties allege

    Third, and most importantly, citizens must reclaim their role. Research on nation-building is clear that sustainable progress depends on active citizens who demand better, participate constructively, and hold leaders accountable beyond election day. While anger at bad leadership is justified, it is necessary to confront an uncomfortable truth: no corrupt politician acts alone. Rigged elections involve compromised officials and voters who sell their votes. Inflated contracts require collaborators in the private sector. Every bribe offered has someone willing to accept it. A nation cannot be repaired solely by those in power if those outside power have withdrawn from collective responsibility.

    Nigeria’s history explains its present, but it does not excuse it. The past may have shaped the foundations, but the future will be determined by choices made now, by leaders who choose to govern with vision and by citizens who refuse to accept dysfunction as destiny.

    Nigeria’s challenges are serious, but they are not unique. Other nations with troubled histories have rebuilt themselves through deliberate leadership, institutional reform, and active citizenship. What is required is not blind optimism, but disciplined hope anchored in responsibility, sacrifice, and sustained effort.

    The task before Nigeria is not to search endlessly for saviours or to romanticise the past. It is to commit to the slow, demanding work of nation-building. History has brought Nigeria to this point. What comes next will depend on whether leadership rises to its duty and whether citizens choose engagement over resignation.

    Only then can Nigeria begin to move from a nation that merely endures to one that truly works.

    •Adewara is a fellow of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy.

  • Sallau: A worthy ambassadorial nominee

    Sallau: A worthy ambassadorial nominee

    Sir: Following the recent successful screening of ambassadors-designate comprising 64 career and non-career ambassadors recently by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, the stage is now set for President Bola Tinubu to post them to their various countries of assignments.

    One indisputable fact is that at this stage of Nigeria’s history is that the country cannot play second fiddle in the international arena. Rather, promoting the country’s national interest- trade and investment, cultural, political and defence should top the agenda.

    To put it differently, President Bola Tinubu foreign policy focus rests on four pillars, referred to as the 4-Ds, namely Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora. The core focus areas and strategies – economic diplomacy, aims at rebranding Nigeria as a prime investment destination, regional leadership (ECOWAS), in the form of actively addressing political crises in neighbouring countries like Niger and promoting peace in the sub region, global partnerships which is about strengthening ties with the US, EU, China, and the Middle East for mutual economic benefits and utilizing foreign relations to maximize national interests, including leveraging spaces in the Sahel; and repurposing foreign partnerships to fund local human capital development, such as health and education initiatives.

    One career diplomat who is acquainted with this is Ambassador-designate Hamza Mohammed Sallau. He is not just one of the newly announced ambassadorial nominees representing Niger State, but he is a man whose character speaks louder than titles.

    Sallau has built many years of an outstanding professional career in the Nigerian Foreign Service. Before his recent nomination by President Tinubu, he had been actively serving Nigeria in Qatar, quietly representing the country with professionalism and dignity.

    I can never forget what he said to me during one of my interactions with him, which left a lasting impression on me. He said, “Always do the right thing. It does not matter if every other person is not doing it.” That single statement captures the kind of man he is: principled, disciplined, and guided by integrity.

    Read Also: Only six new products added to Nigeria’s export list – Adedeji

    Sadly, many people in public office today treat fellow citizens poorly, forgetting the responsibilities that come with leadership. That is not the case with Hamza. His humility, respect for people, and sense of service distinguish him in a system where such qualities are often rare.

    I am among those Nigerians who do not particularly admire the way Nigerian politics is played. However, seeing Sallau’s name on the list of career ambassadorial nominees gives me hope that all is not lost.

    For Nigerians in the diaspora, we know that having the right people serve as our ambassadors is crucial. Ambassadors are the first point of contact, the image, and the voice of the nation abroad. Appointing career professionals with proven integrity, like Sallau, is a meaningful step toward restoring Nigeria’s international image.

    To me, Sallau is more than an ambassadorial nominee. He is evidence that integrity, professionalism, and service still matter and that Nigeria can still be represented by the right people.

    One can only wish him all the best and hope he will continue to represent and serve the country and its diaspora community in the right way, in any country he finds himself. To the other career nominees who have faithfully served Nigeria in the diaspora, I pray they all have the strength to continue on the right path.

    •Emmanuel Chukwuebuka Ibe, Doha, Qatar.

  • Akinyemi, Osaghae, others extol Murtala Muhammed’s virtues 50 years after assassination

    Akinyemi, Osaghae, others extol Murtala Muhammed’s virtues 50 years after assassination

    Stakeholders in Nigeria’s foreign policy, family members and others, yesterday converged on the Nigerian Institute of International Affair (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos in remembrance of the late Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed and the legacy he left behind.

    Gen. Muhammed was assassinated 50 years ago.

    According to them, the late Head of State continued to inspire a new generation of Africans to strive for unity and self-determination.

    They spoke at the Strategic Policy Dialogue organised by the NIIA in conjunction with the Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) with the theme: “Has Africa Come of Age? Murtala Muhammed’s Pan-African Vision 50 Years After.” in Lagos.

    Speakers at the event included the NIIA Director-General Prof Eghosa Osaghae; MMF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aisha Muhammed- Oyebode (daughter of the late General); one-time Foreign Affairs Minister and Chairman of the Governing Council Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; professors Hassan Saliu (President, Nigerian Political Science Association of Nigeria (NPSA); Bukola Adesina of University of Ibadan (UI); Charles Ukeje and Alade Fawole, both from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and NIIA Director of Research Dr. Joshua Bolarinwa.

    They noted that 50 years after his assassination, Gen. Muhammed’s vision for a strong, united, and self-reliant Africa remained as relevant today as it was during his time in office.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    The dialogue is part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of Gen. Muhammed assassination and aimed to reflect on his fearless advocacy for African liberation and his stand on African collective diplomacy.

    Prof. Osaghae emphasised the importance of strategic autonomy and self-determination for Africa, citing Gen. Muhammed’s 1975 speech at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), where he declared that Africa had come of age.

    The NIIA DG noted that the declaration was a statement of Africa’s determination to define its own identity, trajectory, and destiny, free from external influence and control.

    Saying that Africa’s coming of age was not about meeting external expectations, he said the continent should not be bound by as defined and determined by Western civilisation.

     “To say Africa has come of age is actually to put on the stamp the meaning of strategic autonomy and to say that Africa has become its own voice, its own master.

    “Africa has now insisted that it must only follow tracks and tractions that are determined by Africa for Africans. And so today, it resonates very well when we say African solutions to African problems.

    “Africa has come to define itself. And it’s not for nothing that the latest plan of action talked about self-reliance and Africa as self-determined. And so today, we are celebrating the legacy of General Murtala Muhammad, who gave to Africa a new identity, a new traction, a new pathway, and set aside for us this trajectory that we should now be asking the question, have we deviated from that? If we have, then we have not come of our own age,” Prof. Osaghae said.

    Prof. Akinyemi described Gen. Muhammed as a military head of state who stood his ground, adding that he was a man of several parts, whose life impacted lives and the nation.

    He also described the late General as a fearless intellectual Head of State who stood up for what is right, adding that this is what Nigeria needs at the moment.

    At the event, the panelists at the event asserted that Africans must stand by their true identity wherever they find themselves.

    To Prof. Ukeje, Africa’s achievements over the past five decades are notable, but significant work remains. “Coming of age is not simply about independence or resources,” he said. “It is about building resilient institutions, fostering unity, and asserting our voice in global affairs.”

    Prof. Saliu assessed the state of Africa’s institutions, cautioning that weak governance frameworks undermine progress. He stressed the importance of strengthening legal, political, and economic institutions to safeguard national sovereignty and enhance Africa’s bargaining power internationally.

    Prof. Fawole underscored the need for solidarity across African nations and active participation in global institutions.

    “Africa must not only defend its interests but also promote its vision through collective action, partnerships, and diplomacy,” he said, advocating for strategic alliances within Africa and with other developing regions.

    Prof. Adesina drew attention to the importance of telling Africa’s story to the world. Using historical examples of Nigeria’s role in anti-apartheid movements, he stressed that the continent’s contributions often remain unrecognised. “If we do not document our achievements, others will define our legacy for us,” he said.

    Dr. Bolarinwa called for the use of digital media, podcasts, and short videos to engage younger generations in Africa’s political history and global contributions. “Future leaders must understand our past to chart a strategic path forward,” he added.

    The panel discussion was followed by audience questions, with participants exploring strategies to enhance Africa’s self-reliance, institutional capacity, and cultural diplomacy.

  • Toni Kan’s classy COVID-19 chronicle

    Toni Kan’s classy COVID-19 chronicle

    The name Toni Kan has, for decades, moved with ease across the landscape of literature. Poetry, literary fiction, short stories and biography. There are few genres he has not entered, and fewer still that he has not impacted with his distinctive voice. His book, ‘Riding the Storm’, bears quiet but convincing testimony to his range. In it, his versatility is not announced, but revealed, page by page, in the confidence of a writer who has mastered many forms and knows exactly when and how to use them.

    Though not a novel, it unfolds with the confidence and sweep of one. Drawing on his gifts as a poet, novelist, short story writer and biographer, Kan tells the story of Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic using the tools of literary fiction: scene, character, tension and momentum. What emerges is a narrative that reads less like a policy chronicle and more like a carefully structured human drama, one shaped by urgency, uncertainty and the weight of responsibility at a moment when the world seemed to be coming apart.

    The book moves, in most cases, as a novel would, following people rather than abstractions, decisions rather than statistics. At its centre are four figures, three men and a woman, whose paths converge at the height of the crisis: Strive Masiyiwa, John Nkengasong, Benedict Oramah and Vera Songwe. And there is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa playing a key supporting role.

    Kan introduces them not as distant power brokers but as individuals already marked by earlier battles, especially Africa’s encounter with Ebola, and therefore unusually prepared for what was to come. When the pandemic bares its fangs, the reader is shown where each of them is, what they are doing, and how swiftly their worlds are reordered by a threat that respects no borders.

    The author lays bare how Masiyiwa, an industrialist and philanthropist, was drawn into a continental role that requires speed, persuasion and moral clarity. He shows us how Nkengasong, the scientist who operates from the nerve centre of Africa’s public health infrastructure, had to translate data into strategy while racing against time. We are shown how Oramah brought the language of finance into a space dominated by fear and scarcity, mobilising capital as a life-saving instrument. And the book unveils how Songwe, who is grounded in development economics, treated the crisis as a health emergency that is also an economic and social reckoning. Together, they form the backbone of the story, not as committed actors navigating impossible constraints.

    The book shows Nkengasong as a man accustomed to urgency. As head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, he is portrayed as both scientist and translator, turning epidemiological complexity into continental coordination. The pages linger on his early days of the crisis, when data was scarce, testing capacity uneven, and fear moved faster than facts. Nkengasong’s challenge was not merely to understand the virus, but to persuade governments to trust a shared framework of response. His voice carried the authority of science, but also the burden of history. Africa had long been spoken for in global health conversations. Here, he spoke for himself and for a continent unwilling to be managed from afar.

    We see that where Nkengasong provided legitimacy, Masiyiwa supplied momentum. The book treats his appointment as African Union Special Envoy on COVID-19 not as a ceremonial gesture but as an admission: bureaucracy alone would not move fast enough. Masiyiwa’s instincts were shaped by markets and systems, not protocols.

    Because systems require money, and this is where Oramah’s role deepens the narrative. The book portrays him as operating in a quieter register, away from press briefings and televised summits. As head of Afreximbank, Oramah understands that solidarity without financing is performance. Vaccine deals demanded guarantees, credit, and risk absorption at a scale few African institutions had ever attempted. Through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust, Oramah’s bank became the hinge between aspiration and execution. The book is clear-eyed here: without Afreximbank’s balance sheet, Africa’s pooled procurement strategy would have collapsed under the weight of its own ambition.

    If Oramah handled the numbers, Songwe, the book shows us, handled the horizon. Her chapters seem the most reflective in the book, concerned less with the next shipment than with the next decade. As Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Songwe is shown persistently widening the frame, refusing to allow COVID-19 to be treated as a temporary disruption. For her, vaccine access was inseparable from economic dignity. The book credits her with asking inconvenient questions: What does recovery mean if manufacturing remains external? What does resilience look like if health security depends on charity? Songwe’s contribution lay in connecting emergency response to structural reform, in reminding leaders that survival without transformation is merely postponement.

    Around them move other characters, aides, technocrats and political leaders, including Ramaphosa, whose support and authority reinforce the collective effort.

    Kan pays attention to these supporting roles, showing how large outcomes are shaped by coordination, trust and persistence rather than lone brilliance. He also draws clear lines between past and present, reminding the reader that Africa’s relatively swift and coordinated COVID-19 response did not emerge from nowhere, but was built on institutional memory, hard lessons and relationships forged during earlier epidemics.

    From Kan’s telling, we see that pandemics do not arrive with instructions, that they arrive as rupture of routines, of borders, of certainty.

    Read Also: How Nigeria’s festive season is fuelling a silent health crisis

    We see that COVID-19 did not simply test Africa’s health systems; it exposed the scaffolding beneath power, coordination, and trust. This book understands that truth, and it is why it resists the temptation to count ventilators or tally infection curves. Instead, it follows people. And through their intersecting paths, it tells a story about leadership under siege at the heart of which is a quiet insistence that Africa’s COVID-19 response was not improvised heroism but deliberate construction.

    We see less a tale of saviours than of builders, working to assemble something the continent had barely quite possessed before: a functional architecture of collective action.

    In telling this important story, Riding the Storm becomes more than a record of events. It is a meditation on leadership under pressure, on Africa’s capacity for self-organisation, and on what it means to act decisively when history accelerates. Kan’s prose allows the reader to feel the anxiety of the early days, the urgency of closed-door negotiations, and the quiet triumph of systems that held when many expected them to fail. It is this human, narrative-driven approach that gives the book its power, transforming a global catastrophe into a story of agency, collaboration and continental resolve.

    What further gives the book its weight is how it vividly paints how the roles of the major and minor characters interlock. None of them, the author shows, could have succeeded alone. Science without logistics would have stalled. Procurement without financing would have failed. Financing without economic vision would have been shortsighted.

    My final take: It takes a village for most causes to succeed. Let’s learn to cooperate rather than compete. Let’s learn to pool resources together than pulling resources apart. Together, we can do more. Apart, we will do less.

  • INEC gives recognition to Wike-backed PDP faction

    INEC gives recognition to Wike-backed PDP faction

    • Two new parties take off

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday conferred recognition on the Abdulrahman Mohammed caretaker committee as leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The electoral agency took the step in compliance with the last week’s Federal High Court judgment which voided the PDP’s November 16, 2025 convention in Ibadan.

    The convention, which produced the Taminu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) was held in defiance to two Federal High Court judgments, precluding it from being held.

    At the quarterly meeting between the commission and leaders of political parties, the Caretaker Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and caretaker National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, represented the main opposition party.

    It was the first to be held since INEC Chairman Prof. Ojo Amupitan assumed office.

    Prof. Amupitan, who expressed worry over the multiple intra-party crises, said the internal feuds negatively impact on electoral integrity.

    READ ALSO: The dynamics of Kano governor’s defection

    He said although two associations that met the criteria for party registration – Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) – have been registered, following their compliance with the law.

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Netanwe Yilwatda, complained about the systematic disenfrachment of certain categories of Nigerians on occupational grounds.

    But his call for early voting was rejected by Amupitan,  who said it may breed distrust.

    The PDP factional Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, who chided the commission for recognising the Mohammed/Anyanwu faction, said in a statement that the NWC had applied for a stay of execution, adding that the umpire acted contrary to the constitution.

    He said: This action, though ordinarily vexatious and capable of causing widespread breach of peace, will be met with all possible legal response.

    Intra-party crises erode electoral integrity, says INEC

    Amupitan said internal crises and lack of internal democracy in parties often undermine electoral integrity, urging party leaders to avoid frequent leadership squabbles.

    He said numerous litigations, in which the Commission often finds itself joined as a party, divert its attention from the primary duty of  ensuring free, fair, and credible elections.

     Amupita  said “Our collective commitment to maintaining the integrity of our electoral processes is being challenged by the unfortunate and increasingly frequent leadership squabbles within various political parties across our esteemed nation.

    “The essence of democracy is rooted in the ability of political parties to flourish, debate, and contest ideologies in a manner that respects the tenets of fair play and mutual respect.

    “However, it is with great concern that I note the current trend of infighting among party leaderships, which not only detracts from the core objectives of these political entities, but also spills over into unnecessary legal battles that tax our judicial system and public resources.”

    Two new parties registered

    The INEC Chairman announced the registration of two new political parties, bringing the number of parties to 21.

    He said out of 177 associations that sought for registration, 14  satisfied the initial pre-qualification while eight successfully uploaded their documents on the Commission’s dedicated portal.

    The eight are the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Green Future Party (GFP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).

    Amupitan said: “Out of the eight above, only two qualified for final assessment and verification of due compliance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act. After due consideration, only the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) was found to have complied fully with the requirements of the law.

    “Accordingly, the Commission has decided to register the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) as a political party, effective from today, 5th February 2025.

    “Furthermore, the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in Suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025 between Barr Takori Mohammed Sanni & Ors v. INEC ordered the Commission to register Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

    “The Commission has decided to comply with the order and is being registered as a political party. Certificate of Registration will be handed over to the two new political parties in due course”.

    Amupitan assured that the Commission will conduct free governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, and  Area Council polls in FCT on February 21.

    The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, urged INEC to remain independent and provide a level playing field for all political parties.

    He urged party leaders to utilize IPAC’s internal alternative dispute resolution rather than resorting prematurely to the court after the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed lack jurisdiction over party leadership disputes.

    Dantalle said “As we approach the eighth general election under INEC’s supervision, we must resolve to get it right. There should be no excuse for elections that fall short of credibility, transparency, and public acceptability.”

    “The conduct of the FCT Area Council election and the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti State and Osun State will send a strong signal regarding expectations for the 2027 General Election. The Commission must rise to the occasion. Indeed, the eyes of the nation — and the world — are upon us.”

    Yilwatda, Amupitan disagree on early voting

    Yilwatda said the disenfrachment of election day workers contribute to low voter turnout in elections.

    He said thousands of Nigerians who are legally eligible to vote are effectively disenfranchised on election day because of the very roles they play in safeguarding the process.

    Yilwatda listed such individuals as INEC ad-hoc staff, security personnel, civil society observers, medical doctors, journalists, and other essential support staff who are deployed for election duties, but are unable to cast their votes.

    Noting that their absence from the polling booth is a direct consequence of national service, he call for a deep reflection on the proposal for early voting.

    However,  Amupitan explained that while early voting had been considered, it raised serious operational and cultural concerns.

    He cautioned against a system where votes are cast early and “warehoused” for counting after the general election.

    Amupitan said such an arrangement could expose the process to abuse, manipulation, and loss of public trust, with fears that “huge votes could suddenly appear from somewhere.”

    He stressed: “At the heart of the matter is Nigeria’s electoral culture. Nigerians are deeply invested in real-time voting and counting, wanting to see results as they emerge. Until the country builds a culture and system that enjoys absolute public confidence and is seen as incorruptible, adopting early voting may remain difficult.”

    The INEC Chairman also highlighted the heavy financial implications of conducting elections in a single day nationwide.

    He explained that doing so would require the Commission to almost double its electoral materials since the current staggered process allows for the reuse of some equipment.

  • Japa syndrome: Fed Govt’s measures reversing trend, yielding results, say Ganduje, NMCN boss

    Japa syndrome: Fed Govt’s measures reversing trend, yielding results, say Ganduje, NMCN boss

    • Council inducts 206 foreign-trained nurses

    Stakeholders in the nation’s health sector have said the recent government interventions at addressing the mass migration of health workers, popularly known as the ‘Japa’ syndrome, are beginning to yield results.

    The stakeholders spoke yesterday in Abuja at the induction ceremony of 206 foreign-trained nurses, where they assessed the renewed efforts to retain skilled medical personnel in the country.

    The nurses were inducted into the profession after completing a compulsory six-month adaptation programme conducted in 10 Nigerian universities and passing the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) professional examination.

    The inductees graduated from 15 institutions across several countries, including Niger Republic (62), Ghana (35), Cameroon (35), India (22), Cyprus (19), the Philippines (nine), Sudan (nine), Egypt (five), Turkiye (two) and Ukraine (one).

    As part of the registration process, all successful foreign-trained nurses are required to undergo formal induction, similar to their counterparts trained in Nigeria.

    The inductees also took the Oath of Allegiance, pledging to maintain confidentiality and abstain from acts harmful to patients.

    READ ALSO: The dynamics of Kano governor’s defection

    The immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, said reforms introduced by the Federal Government were gradually reversing the trend of outward migration.

    Ganduje expressed optimism that ongoing reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would further strengthen the health sector and encourage professionals to remain in the country.

    “To now finish the internship and decide to go back to where they were coming from, after the government has spent some investment on them? I assure you it will be a different story because the reforms undertaken by the present government will turn the tide,” he said.

    The former APC national chairman noted that improvements in health service delivery were already influencing the decision of many Nigerians trained abroad to return and practise in their country.

    “I think it is a welcome development, because when we have our own children studying abroad and then coming back and joining the service, that is very encouraging,” Ganduje said elatedly.

    NMCN’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Al-Hassan Ndagi, said Nigeria was no longer facing a shortage of trained nurses, following the expansion of training capacity and the introduction of new retention measures.

    Responding to concerns about Nigerians studying nursing abroad, despite the availability of accredited programmes locally, he acknowledged the concern but said the number involved was relatively small.

    “Well, it is a matter of concern because we have a very large number of institutions in Nigeria. But the 206 that you are seeing is just a drop in the ocean of the number of nurses that we train in Nigeria,” Ganduje said.

    The APC stalwart said Nigeria produces no fewer than 27,000 nurses per examination cycle, conducted twice yearly, in addition to midwifery graduates.

    “In every year, we produce nothing less than 115,000,” he said.

    He explained that foreign-trained nurses are required to undergo an adaptation programme to align them with Nigeria’s professional ethics and healthcare delivery system.

    “The ethics and other principles of service here in Nigeria are not the same as those of the outside country. We have noticed the difference in them that does not align with our system. That is why we have to remodel them and make them conform to Nigerian society,” he said.

    Baring his mind on the retention of nurses in the country, Ndagi said existing policies ensure that newly inducted nurses remain in the country for at least two years.

    “They will go for a one-year internship. After that, they will also do another one-year National Youth Service. They will remain in the country for two years,” he said.

    To bolster the in-country retention of the nurses, the registrar announced that the Federal Government had approved a central placement system for newly inducted nurses, enabling authorities to deploy them to health facilities nationwide for service and further training.

    “While they are rendering the service, they are also acquiring more and more skills,” he said.

    Addressing concerns about shortages arising from previous large-scale migration, he said training quotas were expanded to offset losses.

    “About three years ago, in a single year, we recorded about 57,000 nurses leaving the country. So, it meant we were training for outsiders,” he said.

    Ndagi added that over 250,000 nurses are currently serving in Nigeria, while urging the government to accelerate recruitment to absorb available manpower.

    “My call to the government is that more and more nurses should be employed in the service,” he said, noting that Nigerian nurses remain highly regarded internationally.

    Ndagi urged the newly inducted nurses to prioritise the interests of Nigerians, particularly those in hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

    “I encourage you to be exemplary ambassadors of the nursing profession. Demonstrate humility, discipline and respect in your interactions with the public. Let kindness and compassion guide your care for all patients,” he said.

    He emphasised strict adherence to professional ethics and cautioned against unprofessional conduct, including on social media, “Please note that you are now solely responsible for your nursing actions,” he said.

    Ndagi also advised the nurses to embrace lifelong learning, pursue further training and contribute positively to the image of the profession.

    Other speakers at the event advised the inductees, who will proceed on a one-year internship followed by the National Youth Service, to take their training seriously, uphold confidentiality and adapt to the evolving needs of patients.

    The event also featured the presentation of awards to outstanding inductees and the institution that produced the overall best inductee, Cynthia Okwor.

  • 25m to benefit as Tinubu expands women’s economic programme

    25m to benefit as Tinubu expands women’s economic programme

    • Fed Govt rolls out Happy Woman App to connect women to finance, markets, skills, services

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expanded the Nigeria for Women Programme to reach 25 million beneficiaries nationwide.

    The President announced the expansion yesterday while unveiling a digital platform designed to connect women to finance, skills, markets, essential services and government support.

    President Tinubu launched the programme, now called the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU), at the State House in Abuja, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

    The President said Nigeria could not achieve sustainable growth without placing women at the centre of national planning.

    He described the scale-up as a key pillar of his administration’s social and economic inclusion agenda.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, President Tinubu stressed that “a nation that relegates its women is a nation bound for implosion”.

    He added: “We have long understood this truth. That is why this administration has not only placed women at the forefront of decision-making but has also entrusted them with leadership in causes that redeem our national promise. Today stands as proof of that commitment.”

    The expanded initiative follows a pilot phase in six states, which, according to the Presidency, reached over one million beneficiaries.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    With the national scale-up, the government introduced the Happy Woman App Platform, described as a secure digital interface that links women to empowerment opportunities, including finance, skills training, market access, protection services and social support.

    The programme is headed by Dr. Hadiza Maina and is co-financed by the World Bank alongside the Federal Government and participating state governments.

    It is designed to strengthen women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and social development nationwide.

    President Tinubu said his administration had set a “bold but achievable national ambition” of reaching 25 million Nigerian women through the programme, while calling on the World Bank to strengthen its financing, technical support and innovation partnerships to sustain the scale-up.

    “Digital inclusion is no longer optional; it is foundational to effective service delivery and national competitiveness,” he said.

    In a related policy announcement, the President designated 2026 as the “Year of Social Development and Families in Nigeria,” directing coordinated action across all levels of government.

    The declaration, the Presidency said, followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during President Tinubu’s January official visit to Türkiye, aimed at strengthening family cohesion and social welfare systems.

    The President hailed the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for integrating technology into policy implementation and for reorganising social development into a more coherent system since the launch of the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention in Lafia last year.

    He also praised governors and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for aligning federal vision with state-level execution.

    President Tinubu stressed that “national transformation succeeds when all levels of government move with shared purpose”.

    The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, described the initiative as a major shift in Nigeria’s governance framework.

    “Today is a structural signal for Nigerian women, children, and families,” she said.

    “It is a signal that under your leadership, women are no longer treated as beneficiaries at the margins of development but as primary drivers of Nigeria’s economic, social, and democratic stability.”

    The minister said the programme builds on the achievements of Phase I of the Nigeria for Women Project in six states.

    She announced that 26,577 women’s affinity groups were formed with over 560,000 members.

    Hajiya Sulaiman-Ibrahim said participants recorded significant financial progress.

    “Through the Women Affinity Groups formed, they collectively saved over ₦4.9 billion of their own money and have inter-loaned significantly to expand their businesses, cover health costs, and pay school fees,” she said.

    The minister described the new phase as a major continental investment in women’s empowerment, noting that it is a $540 million programme co-financed by the World Bank and the Federal and State Governments.

    According to her, the initiative is designed to directly reach at least five million women across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, while supporting national priorities such as job creation, food security, rural revitalisation and financial inclusion.

    Sulaiman-Ibrahim also said the programme had strengthened civic identity among women beneficiaries.

    “In Niger State, for instance, during programme rollout, many women, for the first time in their lives, obtained formal identification to participate,” she said.

    “The fastest and most accessible ID available to them was the voter card.”

    The minister added that the newly registered women “became politically visible”.

    Hajiya Sulaiman-Ibrahim announced that the Happy Woman App would serve as a central hub for women’s empowerment.

    “This platform will aggregate access to programmes, finance opportunities, skills training, protection services, and market linkages. Our target is 10 million verified women registrations within the next ten months,” she said.

    Also, the World Bank Regional Representative for Africa, Mr. Robert Chase, said the project was designed by the bank’s Social Policy Department to place women at the centre of development, stressing that investing in women remains the most impactful investment any nation can make.

    The Director of the Nigeria Country Office of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Uche Amaonwu, noted that empowering women directly translates to healthier families and safer communities, noting that women’s empowerment significantly reduces disease and insecurity at the household level.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, expressed his ministry’s readiness to collaborate on women-focused empowerment initiatives across the country.

    Representative of the Senate President, Senator Ireti Kingibe, said the scale-up reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing the needs of women, adding that the National Assembly would continue to enact legislation to expand women’s access to governance and economic resources.

    Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the NGF, Katsina State  Deputy Governor Faruk Jobe reaffirmed the commitment of state governments to providing counterpart funding for the successful implementation of women-focused projects.

    He announced that Katsina State, a participating state in the project, had earmarked ₦4 billion in its current budget to support the initiative.

  • Arewa and the burden of dependency

    Arewa and the burden of dependency

    Sir: The persistent rise in poverty across Northern Nigeria has become too visible, too widespread, and too uncomfortable to ignore. Despite years of government interventions, donor-funded programmes, and repeated political promises, the economic condition of many communities in the region has shown limited improvement. While poverty is a national problem, its intensity and social manifestations in Arewa compel a deeper, more honest examination beyond policy failures and leadership deficits.

    One critical factor sustaining poverty in Arewa is the region’s high dependency ratio: a large population of unemployed, underemployed, or economically inactive adults relying on a small number of productive individuals for survival. This pattern has normalised dependence and weakened incentives for self-sufficiency.

    In many towns and old cities across the North, families are familiar with the daily presence of individuals who depend on routine assistance for food, school fees, medical bills, and emergency needs. What often begins as a humane act of support gradually becomes an inherited obligation. As children of middle-class families grow into employment, the responsibility quietly transfers to them, expanding to include extended relatives and, in many cases, the children of earlier dependants.

    These demands are not symbolic. They can consume a significant portion of monthly income, sometimes exceeding 10 per cent, in an economy already strained by inflation and rising living costs. While similar practices exist in other parts of the country, the scale and permanence of dependency in many northern communities distinguish it from elsewhere.

    Helping others is noble, and no society survives without mutual support. However, what is troubling is how little the condition of beneficiaries changes over time. Decades pass, and the same families remain dependent, with new generations added to the cycle. Poverty becomes inherited, normalised, and quietly institutionalised.

    Two major obstacles sustain this dependency structure. The first is the concentration of responsibility on a single individual. In many extended families, one person shoulders almost all financial obligations: from school fees and medical care to wedding trousseaus and naming ceremonies. This arrangement offers social protection to the provider, shielding them from social pressure. Yet it is a fragile system. When the “big wall” weakens—through job loss, illness, retirement, or death—the entire structure collapses, often plunging families into crisis.

    The second challenge is the absence of deliberate strategies to end dependence at family and community levels. Daily alms, food handouts, and small cash gifts may relieve immediate hardship, but they rarely create lasting change. Many well-meaning individuals give generously without plans to help beneficiaries become self-reliant. The obsession with sharing small sums among many often weakens impact. Distributing N50,000 among 10 people may satisfy social expectations, but it rarely empowers anyone.

    Read Also: Nigeria, World Bank push for jobs, growth

    There are no quick fixes to problems rooted in social behaviour and cultural norms. Still, practical steps can be taken at individual, family, and community levels. First, underemployment must be addressed by encouraging income diversification rather than perpetual assistance. Families should begin asking difficult but necessary questions: if the main provider is unavailable, who steps in? This reflection can inspire deliberate efforts to replicate skills, businesses, and income sources within households and extended families.

    Second, there is an urgent need to equip young people with practical, modern skills that enable them to compete beyond low-paying government jobs. The heavy reliance on public sector employment in the North has contributed significantly to underemployment. An average government salary can barely sustain a household, often forcing workers to remain dependent on extended family support.

    Some families and communities are already experimenting with solutions—organising in-house training programmes, skill workshops, mentorship sessions, and even funding small start-ups through internal competitions. Such models, if adopted widely, could reduce dependency and restore dignity.

    Third, communities must rethink how zakat and sadaqah are administered. Pooling resources for targeted empowerment—rather than spreading them thinly—can transform lives. While this approach is socially difficult given the number of the needy, it offers a sustainable path out of poverty for at least some, who can then support others.

    Poverty in Northern Nigeria is not an unsolvable problem. While individuals cannot replace the role of government, communities are not powerless. By rethinking dependency, redefining charity, and investing in skills and productivity, Arewa can begin to reverse a cycle that has endured for far too long.

    •Abdulhamid Abdullahi Aliyu, Abuja.

  • Nigeria-U.S. security alliance transparent, policy-driven, says DHQ

    Nigeria-U.S. security alliance transparent, policy-driven, says DHQ

    The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed concerns raised by some citizens over the United States’ deployment of troops in Nigeria.

    It described the deployment as part of longstanding military cooperation between the two countries.

    The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Samaila Uba, said in a statement yesterday that the partnership is structured, policy-driven and aligned with Nigeria’s constitutional provisions.

    The clarification followed confirmation by the U.S. that it had deployed a small number of troops to Nigeria to support efforts against terrorism and violent extremism.

    During a virtual briefing on Tuesday, the U.S. Africa Command described Nigeria as a “willing partner”.

    The development generated mixed reactions, with some Nigerians questioning the basis of the deployment.

    Responding, Uba said all engagements under the partnership are conducted with full respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty and within existing bilateral frameworks.

    He added that the cooperation focuses on capacity building, professional military education, intelligence sharing, logistics support and strategic dialogue.

    READ ALSO: The dynamics of Kano governor’s defection

    The director explained that a recent two-day high-level Working Group meeting between senior U.S. officials and Nigerian counterparts at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) formed a part of ongoing engagements, following earlier meetings in the United States.

    According to him, the discussions were aimed at strengthening cooperation, improving coordination and enhancing accountability in joint counterterrorism operations and other transnational threats, while prioritising civilian protection and community safety.

    Uba said proposals from the meeting are still under review by relevant Nigerian authorities, adding that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed to safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity without compromising national independence.

  • RMAFC: New pay package for political office holders ready

    RMAFC: New pay package for political office holders ready

    The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) yesterday announced that it had finalised work on a new remuneration for political office holders in the country.

    The commission said it had submitted the new pay package to the President through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

    RMAFC’s Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, who announced this at a budget defence of the agency before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, said the new proposal is for ministers and political office holders.

    He said the President will soon forward the new salary package to the National Assembly for further scrutiny and approval.

    Shehu said the agency was also working on “vertical, horizontal revenue sharing formula. We are also on that. We will conclude this year”.

    The chairman, who provided an update on the ongoing review of the revenue allocation formula for the three tiers of government as well as the remuneration for political office holders, stated: “Very soon, we will conclude. We have done everything. We have concluded. We are just about to finish analysing the data and bring it before you.”

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    “We hope that very soon this will be transmitted to you so that it becomes law. Of course, your own doesn’t require any legislation. It’s for the ministers and others.”

    He expressed concern over the interference of state governments in the fiscal governance of the local government areas over the years.

    Shehu said: “The commission would like to establish a Local Government Committee now, like we used to do before the Supreme Court said we were busy bodies. Now, we will monitor every single local government in Nigeria.

    “I’m glad that Mr. President spoke to the governors, that ‘if you don’t allow this, I will issue an Executive Order’. So, the commission is fully in support of Mr. President over this course.

    “The crisis we are having in Nigeria today is the lack of functionality of the local governments, and every single one of us knows this. Even under the military, the local governments performed much better. So, I thank you profoundly, sir; it’s your committee that initiated this.

    “Three years ago, when we came, we told you, you (Committee Chairman Abiodun Faleke) said you could handle this, and you guided me. I followed your advice and the rest is a success. So, we are grateful for this also.”

    “I sincerely thank this committee for what you have done for the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. You have brought us out. We are now being respected by almost all the revenue-generating agencies in Nigeria.

    “Even before we knock now, they are knocking at our doors, having discussions with us. Some of the issues that have been, over the years, are being addressed by some of these revenue-generating agencies; whether it is the Nigerian Customs, the NUPRC, and other agencies.

    “So, I thank you profoundly and I think you have done a great service to Nigeria. This is just the beginning. I will now go to the document before you.”

    Shehu told the lawmakers that the agency was carrying out an audit of the nation’s oil assets in the Niger Delta.

    He said: “What you have done for us and for Nigeria; your name will go down in gold, sir. We are being respected by all revenue-generating agencies. Anywhere we go now, everybody is like shivering, trying to really identify with us.

    “For the first time, the verification that we are doing of oil wells all across the Niger Delta region has never been done before. The equipment that we have; not even new precursors. No governor now will say, ‘When you come to my state, you have to beg me,” where even we are going to stay, provide vehicles and things like that. Now, we can do that.

    |My people spent three to four months in the field. Some of them went into the creeks, up to here, to identify those oil assets that we have in Nigeria. By the time we finish, when Mr. President receives this report, this country will shake. I’m not making it up. I have provided you with an internal report, but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag. So, this is remarkable, sir.”